Demonstration of a tool for automatic learning and re-use of knowledge in the activated sludge process.

Wastewater treatment plant operators encounter complex operational problems related to the activated sludge process and usually respond to these by applying their own intuition and by taking advantage of what they have learnt from past experiences of similar problems. However, previous process experiences are not easy to integrate in numerical control, and new tools must be developed to enable re-use of plant operating experience. The aim of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of a case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to apply learning and re-use of knowledge gained during past incidents to confront actual complex problems through the IWA/COST Benchmark protocol. A case study shows that the proposed CBR system achieves a significant improvement of the benchmark plant performance when facing a high-flow event disturbance.     

Benchmark simulation Model no 2 in Matlab-simulink: towards plant-wide WWTP control strategy evaluation.

In this paper, implementation of the Benchmark Simulation Model No 2 (BSM2) within Matlab-Simulink is presented. The BSM2 is developed for plant-wide WWTP control strategy evaluation on a long-term basis. It consists of a pre-treatment process, an activated sludge process and sludge treatment processes. Extended evaluation criteria are proposed for plant-wide control strategy assessment. Default open-loop and closed-loop strategies are also proposed to be used as references with which to compare other control strategies. Simulations indicate that the BM2 is an appropriate tool for plant-wide control strategy evaluation.     

WWTP dynamic disturbance modelling--an essential module for long-term benchmarking development.

Intensive use of the benchmark simulation model No. 1 (BSM1), a protocol for objective comparison of the effectiveness of control strategies in biological nitrogen removal activated sludge plants, has also revealed a number of limitations. Preliminary definitions of the long-term benchmark simulation model No. 1 (BSM1_LT) and the benchmark simulation model No. 2 (BSM2) have been made to extend BSM1 for evaluation of process monitoring methods and plant-wide control strategies, respectively. Influent-related disturbances for BSM1_LT/BSM2 are to be generated with a model, and this paper provides a general overview of the modelling methods used. Typical influent dynamic phenomena generated with the BSM1_LT/BSM2 influent disturbance model, including diurnal, weekend, seasonal and holiday effects, as well as rainfall, are illustrated with simulation results. As a result of the work described in this paper, a proposed influent model/file has been released to the benchmark developers for evaluation purposes. Pending this evaluation, a final BSM1_LT/BSM2 influent disturbance model definition is foreseen. Preliminary simulations with dynamic influent data generated by the influent disturbance model indicate that default BSM1 activated sludge plant control strategies will need extensions for BSM1_LT/BSM2 to efficiently handle 1 year of influent dynamics.     

Volatile compounds of original African black and white shea butter from Tchad and Cameroon

Shea butter is used as an edible vegetable fat in many African countries. It can be utilized as a substitute or complete replacement for cocoa butter in various applications and plays an important role in traditional African medicinal practice. Although detection of volatile compounds by solid‐phase micro‐extraction gas‐chromatography mass‐spectroscopy (SPME‐GC‐MS) is a very reliable and reproducible technique, which can be used as an important part of authenticity checking, production monitoring and contamination detection, no published data about volatile compounds of shea butter are available so far. In this investigation, the characteristic volatiles in the headspace of original African shea butter samples were identified by using SPME‐capillary‐GC coupled to a mass selective detector. Almost 100 different volatile components were identified, e.g. fatty acids, saturated and unsaturated aldehydes and ketones, terpenes, and typical Maillard reaction products such as methylfuranes and pyrazines. Furthermore, the samples have been olfactorily evaluated by a panel of professional flavorists and trained analytical chemists. It can be stated that variations in processing conditions of shea butter result in considerable differences in the composition of headspace volatiles, detected by SPME‐GC‐MS and human olfaction.     

The use of predictive microbiology by the Australian meat industry

In Australia, the key regulatory body, the Meat Standards Committee (MSC) of the Agricultural and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand (ARMCANZ) and the Export Meat Industry Advisory Council (EMIAC) have accepted in principle the usefulness of predictive microbiology for science-based regulation. The predictive microbiology approach is being used in a range of areas including hot-boning, distribution of meat, retailing of meat, fermentation, plant breakdowns and extended chilling regimes.     

Plant-wide (BSM2) evaluation of reject water treatment with a SHARON-Anammox process.

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) equipped with sludge digestion and dewatering systems, the reject water originating from these facilities contributes significantly to the nitrogen load of the activated sludge tanks, to which it is typically recycled. In this paper, the impact of reject water streams on the performance of a WWTP is assessed in a simulation study, using the Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2 (BSM2), that includes the processes describing sludge treatment and in this way allows for plant-wide evaluation. Comparison of performance of a WWTP without reject water with a WWTP where reject water is recycled to the primary clarifier, i.e. the BSM2 plant, shows that the ammonium load of the influent to the primary clarifier is 28% higher in the case of reject water recycling. This results in violation of the effluent total nitrogen limit. In order to relieve the main wastewater treatment plant, reject water treatment with a combined SHARON-Anammox process seems a promising option. The simulation results indicate that significant improvements of the effluent quality of the main wastewater treatment plant can be realized. An economic evaluation of the different scenarios is performed using an Operating Cost Index (OCI).     

Development of intuitions about support beyond infancy.

In a series of 3 experiments modeled after infant studies, 3- to- 6-year-old children’s intuitive knowledge about support was assessed. Different objects were shown either sufficiently supported or not. Children had to predict whether a block would remain standing on a platform upon release or make perceptual judgments about the possibility of a shown block-on-platform configuration. Overall, performance was strongly age-related and independent of task context. Sensitivity for the amount of contact between object and support was clearly evidenced for each of the age-groups tested and was almost perfect in 5- and 6-year-olds. By contrast, sensitivity for the proportion of an object’s volume positioned over the support was only marginally reliable in 3-year-olds and still far from perfect in 6-year-olds. It is concluded that basic intuitions about support undergo distinct developmental change beyond infancy and are not yet fully developed in kindergartners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computer aided model analysis and dynamic simulation of a wastewater treatment plant

A nitrogen removal benchmark was analyzed using the Activated Sludge Models No. 1 (ASM1) and No. 3 (ASM3) in order to establish a basis for designing an experimental comparison of the two model types. Differences in steady state effluent concentrations predicted by both models could to a large extent be explained by different model concepts. The steady state system performance was analyzed by evaluating the Monod factor values, and through a sensitivity analysis of the kinetic model parameters. Both methods complement each other. Analysis of the Monod factor values can lead to determination of parameters to be estimated during model calibration. The steady state system response to manipulation of the potential actuators for control was evaluated via a sensitivity analysis. The concept of relative sensitivity was introduced to compare the relative effect of each actuator in both models. The negative relative sensitivities of X _S to four of the five control handles analyzed imply an opposite response of both models, which can be important for control structure design. The analysis of the process behavior to different disturbances showed different dynamics of both models. ASM3 simulation results are easier to interpret because the model structure is more transparent, mainly due to the simpler cell decay model principle considered in ASM3. An inverse response was obtained for the return sludge and nitrate recycle flow rate, indicating that multivariable control design is required. Electronic Publication     

Laser ablation of FOX-7: proposed mechanism of decomposition

A novel high-energy explosive material, FOX-7 (1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene), was studied using a combination of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). The LIBS technique uses short laser pulses (an ArF excimer laser) as the energy source to convert small quantities of a sample into plasma and to induce the emission of its molecular fragments or atoms. SIFT-MS is a novel method for absolute quantification based on chemical ionization using three reagent ions, with the ability to determine concentrations of trace gases and vapors of volatile organic compounds in real time. SIFT-MS was used to study the release of NO, NO(2), HCN, HONO, HCHO, CH(3)CH(2)OH, and C(2)H(2) after laser ablation of the explosive compound FOX-7 in solid crystalline form. The radiation emitted after excitation was analyzed using a time-resolved UV-vis spectrometer with an ICCD detector. The electronic bands of CN (388 nm), OH (308.4 nm), and NO (237.1 nm) radicals and the atomic lines of C, N, and H were identified.     

六碳糖和五碳糖同步糖化与共发酵的数学模型

Reliable production of biofuels and specifically bioethanol has attracted a significant amount of re-search recently.Within this context,this study deals with dynamic simulation of bioethanol production processes and in particular aims at developing a mathematical model for describing simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) of C6 and C5 sugars.The model is constructed by combining existing mathematical mod-els for enzymatic hydrolysis and co-fermentation.An inhibition of ethanol on cellulose conversion is introduced in order to increase the reliability.The mathematical model for the SSCF is verified by comparing the model predic-tions with experimental data obtained from the ethanol production based on kraft paper mill sludge.When fitting the model to the data,only the yield coefficients for glucose and xylose metabolism were fine-tuned,which were found to be 0.43 g·g-1 (ethanol/glucose) and 0.35 g·g-1 (ethanol/xylose) respectively.These promising validation results encourage further model application to evaluate different process configurations for lignocellulosic bioetha-nol technology.